An Unexpected Meeting At The Park
by kymby67
Summary: Is it possible that an unexpected encounter between two strangers might lead to love? A modern Edith and Anthony written for Andith Fest 2019
1. Chapter 1

**Happy Andith Fest everyone! Thanks to Lady Tarlea for, once again, organizing this wonderful event!**

With the collar of his farmer's jacket turned up to the fend off the autumn chill, Anthony Strallan sat on a faded wooden bench watching as the fallen leaves swirled and spiraled in the brisk, late October wind. Tapping his long slender fingers impatiently against the package lying beside him, the man cursed both his luck and his lack of courage. Fool, he muttered under his breath, you should have given her this weeks ago. Checking his watch once more, the tall blond saw that it was nearly half an hour later than the time Edith normally arrived at the park. That could only mean one thing, she wasn't coming. In frustration, he slumped against the back of the bench. Well, he certainly couldn't blame her, it was, to be honest, a bit too nippy to be communing out of doors this time of year, especially with a chap as old and boring as he.

The couple, who'd met by chance just a few months earlier, had quickly established an easy report, falling into a comfortable routine of meeting three to four days each week at this very spot. Always, of course, under the pretense of working, Anthony on his novel and Edith, her art portfolio. Now, with the weather turning colder, the pair had promised to continue their little outings once warmer weather returned in the Spring. But both, though neither knew it, had been reluctant to part ways just yet, and, so had agreed to one last outing.

Anthony shook his head in disgust, and the sound of laughter which escaped his lips was sudden, harsh, and filled with bitterness. Blast his bloody insecurities, why couldn't he have at least mustered up enough nerve to ask for her phone number? Now, he might never see her again! He frowned, lines furrowing deep into his forehead, remembering that he'd warned himself from the beginning not to get his hopes up. Daily, he'd reminded his worn and battered heart that it wasn't possible for a young woman as attractive and intelligent as Edith Crawley to be interested in the likes of him. Somewhere along the way though, his heart had betrayed him but by the time he'd realized that fact, it was too late. Anthony Strallan had fallen for the lovely strawberry blonde with chestnut brown eyes, who seemingly appreciated his dry wit and found his social awkwardness rather endearing.

A warm smile lingered lovingly on his weathered face as he recalled their first encounter.

_Three months earlier..._

As he rounded the bend in the trail which led to his favorite location for working on his novel, Anthony Strallan came to an abrupt stop. He'd expected to find the bench empty, instead, seated at the far end of it was a young woman in her mid to late twenties. At the moment, she held a sketch pad in one hand, a pencil in the other, and, lying on the ground beside her was a backpack from which an array of art supplies spilled forth. Caught off guard by her presence, he stood frozen to the spot, watching as the sunlight shimmered and danced upon her strawberry curls, completely captivated by the rich golden red strands dancing gently in the summer breeze as she concentrated on her project.

"Hello,'' he blurted out after a moment or so, surprising himself almost as much as he managed to startle the young woman.

"Oh, hello," she gasped, the shock of a tall blond stranger's unexpected appearance causing her to drop her pencil as she clutched the sketch pad to her chest.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to frighten you, it's just, well, I wasn't expecting to find my usual spot taken."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, stooping over to gather her materials, "I've been coming here the past few days and hadn't seen anyone else, so I assumed," she shrugged in embarassment, a faint blush staining her cheeks. "Give me just a minute to collect my things and I'll be on my way."

"Forgive me, for acting so rudely," Anthony mumbled in embarrassment, "you see, I've been away. Besides, it's not as though I've staked a claim to this area. You've just as much right to be here as I."

"Still, it appears you have work to do," she nodded towards his laptop case, "and I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Oh, but you wouldn't be," the baronet was quick to respond, "after all, there's an extra bench so there's more than enough room for the both of us." He nervously cleared his throat, "Please, won't you stay?"

Anthony held his breath as the young woman quietly contemplated his offer. Slowly a smile spread across her face, "I would like to finish the landscape I've been working on," she replied, "so, if you're quite sure?"

His lips twitched upward into a giddy crooked grin, "I should be delighted," he replied. The couple stared awkwardly at each other until Edith motioned towards the bench nearest to her, "not that it's any of my business but the sooner you get started, well, the sooner..."

"Hmmm, what? Oh, yes, of course, the sooner I'll be finished, " he stammered in embarrassment. Dear lord, he'd simply stood there soaking in her beauty like a lovestruck schoolboy. Making his way over to the other bench, Anthony eased his laptop from it's case, doubting that he'd make much, if any, progress on his novel today.

A bit later, the strawberry blonde chuckled softly, "You're staring," she accused, without looking up. "How... how ever did you know?" The young woman shrugged, "just a sixth sense we artistic types seem to acquire. A sort of finely tuned sense of observation that, in my opinion, puts us a bit more in tune with our surroundings, thereby giving us a rather uncanny ability to know when we're being watched. So, if might I ask, what's troubling you?"

"Ah, well, it's just occurred to me that I... I don't know your name?"

"Well," the redhead's pencil stilled and she slid it behind her ear, "if it's any consolation," her eyes twinkled mischeivously, "I don't know yours either. And, I certainly hope I haven't given you the impression that I'm the type of girl who goes around giving her name to every handsome stranger with whom she crosses paths."

"Ah... yes... I mean no! Of course not," Anthony stuttered, "I... I never... meant to imply..."

"Relax, I'm only teasing," the strawberry blonde reassured him. She paused momentarily, her eyes traveling from the older gentleman's incredibly beautiful blue eyes, down his lanky frame, and back again. "Well, except for the part about your being incredibly handsome," she continued, causing the self conscious baronet to blush. Extending her hand, she introduced herself, "I'm Edith. Edith Crawley."

Relishing the feel of her delicate hand in his, Anthony gave a slight bow, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Edith."

The young lady politely waited a few moments, "And?" she prompted.

"And?" the baronet repeated, clearly confused by the question.

"And, don't you think now might be a good time to, oh, I don't know, introduce yourself?" she laughed.

The tall blond cringed, just how many times was he going to embarass himself in the presence of this lovely creature. "Anthony," he murmured, wishing the ground would open up and swallow him, "Anthony Strallan."

The squawking of geese overhead interrupted his thoughts, and brought him back to the present. Reaching for the package beside him, the tall blond stood, looking up towards the clouds. At the moment, his life seemed every bit as dreary and gray as the skies above. He glanced towards the river and, for a long moment, considered walking down to it's banks and tossing the package into the rushing waters. He shook his head, no, he couldn't do that. In fact, he had no idea what to do for this hadn't been one of his professional endeavors, this had been personal. This journal contained his hopes, his fears, his soul. It wasn't meant to be published. Anthony had written this for Edith and Edith alone. His hopes dashed, Anthony tucked the story of his life up under his arm and left.

_**Since, I already have several WIP's, I should probably have focused on one of those but this little idea has been brewing for a while and wouldn't leave me alone. I'm thinking it will be three chapters. Baron Munchausen, I can hear you chuckling from across the pond!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks you all so much for reading and for your reviews to the last chapter! Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated! Long live Andith!**

Though she was nearly an hour late for their little rendezvous, Edith Crawley had somehow managed to remain positive, telling herself that Anthony would be waiting. But, now, upon realizing that the silver Land Rover, she'd hoped to find parked in it's usual spot, was nowhere to be seen, the strawberry blonde panicked. You shouldn't have stopped at Daisy's, she chided herself, then you wouldn't have gotten stuck in traffic and you'd have been here in plenty of time. Only, the young woman had wanted to do something nice for their final outing. Nothing fancy mind you, just a simple gesture to express how much she'd enjoyed their time together over the past weeks. And, then mid morning, having stepped out her front door to discover overcast skies and the ground still covered with a light frost, tea and scones had seemed like a perfectly fitting way to commemorate a chance encounter that had quickly grown into a warm friendship. True, the bakery had been a bit out of her way, but, if she hadn't been delayed by an accident, she'd have only been a few minutes late. Now, as only the sound of her footsteps crunching along the gravel echoed in the silence, Edith hurried across the empty car park, clutching tightly to the thermos of tea and box of assorted pastries she'd purchased from Mason's Bakery. The strawberry blonde paused momentarily, shifting those items over to her right arm before giving the backpack slung over her left side a haphazard shrug in an attempt to prevent it from sliding off her shoulder. Unfortunately, the thermos slipped from her grasp, tumbling to the ground, the box of pastries following afterwards as she grasped for the falling object. Damn and blast, she thought kneeling to retrieve the items, and in a moment anger, she considered using the thermos to pulverize the contents of the box.

Gathering her belongings, the young woman took a deep breath before easing forward to peek around a small cluster of trees to the bench where she and Anthony had spent many an afternoon together during the past months, praying that by some miracle of chance, she would find the tall, blue eyed, older gentleman waiting for her. And, although deep down she'd known he wouldn't be there, finding the bench empty drove home her feelings of loss, and, the tears which she'd been holding at bay, suddenly spilled forth as she worried that he'd left perhaps thinking she hadn't wanted to see him . Trembling, Edith sat the pastries and tea off to one side, pulling her cashmere sweater tighter in an attempt to fend off the icy chill that had nothing to do with the weather. Reaching for her backpack, she took out her mobile and began scrolling through her list of contacts as if expecting Anthony's information to somehow magically appear. She'd wanted to ask Anthony for his number, but worried he might think it a bit too forward of her. Oh, Edith, she huffed, be honest with yourself, you were too much of a coward to ask. While strawberry blonde may have been able to put on quite a convincing act and possibly fool Anthony into thinking she was a self assured young woman, when it came right down to it, Edith Crawley was painfully shy and had very little self esteem or confidence. In fact, she'd quite surprised herself at how forthright she was able to be in the the older gentleman's presence. Perhaps, it was because when it came to social interaction, he seemed just as awkward as she, and, in Edith's case, that certainly wasn't the norm. Besides, if he were truly interested, wouldn't he have suggested exchanging cell numbers?

The young woman began to weep softly. Oh,Crawley, she sadly thought, why don't you just give up and accept the fact that perhaps you're not meant to experience love or marriage. Try looking on the bright side, you're a successful artist, and you've no reason to be unhappy even if you're meant to be alone.

Taking a seat on the bench, Edith closed her eyes, wondering if confiding in Anthony had been a mistake. Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea to be as forthright about her past as she'd been during their last conversation? Maybe, she ought to have waited until they knew each other a bit better. No, the strawberry blonde shook her head, she'd been bitten by the secrets of her past before and, after the fiasco with Michael Gregson, hadn't she vowed to never again make the mistake of trying to hide her past sins? She'd truly felt that Anthony would appreciate her honesty and, so she'd bared her soul to the older gentleman, telling him of the affair she'd carried on with Mr. Drake, the farm manager on her father's Yorkshire estate. Told him about Michael, her former fiance' from whom she'd been able to keep any knowledge of the former affair hidden until Mrs. Drake, who undoubtedly agreed with the old adage that revenge was a dish best served cold, decided that the best time to reveal Edith had been an adulteress was smack dab in the middle of the couple's wedding ceremony. The couple had argued, the redhead pleading for forgiveness before helplessly watching as Michael turned and marched out of the church, leaving her feeling humiliated as she stood at the altar, ashamed and alone, in front of her family and friends. The next week, she'd left Yorkshire to make a new life for herself in Sussex. And, for a time, Edith had been certain her broken heart would never mend. But that was before a tall handsome stranger named Anthony Strallan entered her life.

Setting her phone aside, Edith reached into her backpack once more, this time she withdrew an artist's pad. Opening it, she flipped through the pages studying the various drawings she'd made of the older gentleman over the past weeks. There were sketches of Anthony in deep thought, Anthony working on his novel, Anthony with his head thrown back in laughter. Softly, the strawberry blonde caressed her fingers over the charcoal and pencil lines of her creations. She'd begun the sketches as a sort of gift to the tall blonde but, as time passed, they'd also become an expression of her growing feelings for him. Feelings the young woman found she hadn't the courage to express verbally but, desperately hoped were conveyed through her work. And, now it was all for naught, since Anthony, it seemed, would never lay eyes upon these images. Edith whimpered, her heart aching at the thought she'd never again stare into the older gentleman's brilliant blue orbs or see the adorable crooked grin that broke across his features whenever he was amused. That never again would she hear his voice, it's rich, warm timbre sending a shiver of excitement through her and causing her skin to prickle with goosebumps.

Suddenly, the young woman frowned deeply, the notion occurring to her that rather than Anthony's having left before she arrived, it was quite possible he hadn't been shown up at all. Maybe, he'd somehow realized she had fallen for him and he was trying to avoid the ensuing awkwardness of having to explain that he didn't feel the same towards her. If that was true, then these images would only serve as a painful reminder of another failed attempt at love. In that case, perhaps the most fitting place for these sketches was at the bottom of the river, the strawberry blonde decided as she rose, snapping the pad shut, before taking a step in the direction of the rushing waters.


End file.
